Monday, July 01, 2013

The cronut. It's taken New Yorkers by storm and swept across the world via a tornado of inspired bakers. In Sydney, Adriano Zumbo is selling the zonut. In Melbourne it's the doissant by MoVida. And who created all this fuss? It's the brain child of Dominique Ansel, a French baker who worked as an Executive Pastry Chef for Daniel Boulud for six years. Although wewere in New York earlier this month, I hadn't expected to find myself queuing for a pastry, but hey... what better thing did we have to do at 6.50am on a Wednesday morning?

6.50am? Oh. Gawd. I'm not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination. Food might be one the few things to get me out of bed early, but waking up at 5.30am sounded like the worst idea in the world when that alarm went off in the darkness.

Queuing for cronuts at Dominique Ansel Bakery

By the time we'd stumbled the 2km walk to Dominique Ansel Bakery it was 6.50am. There was already a sea of people in line, including several groups who'd come prepared with mats and card games to pass the two hour wait. We were 54th in the queue.

The first people in the queue arrived before 5.45am

The streets are dead at 7am in New York. Noone should be on the streets at this hour, let alone standing in line for something. The occasional passerby would stop at the sight of the queue, pause in confusion, and then ask "Is this for that cronut thing?". We'd nod sheepishly as they laughed, and shift our weight onto the other foot.

I asked those at the front of the queue what time they'd arrived that morning. One person said that yesterday she'd arrived at 6.15am and was seventh in line. Today she'd turned up at 5.45am and was second. "You're queuing up two days in a row?" I'd asked incredulously. "Well I'm being paid to be here, so it's not too bad," she'd replied.

The 130-strong queue around the corner at 7.50am

And that's the thing. Ever since Dominique Ansel launched the cronut at his Soho bakery on May 10, 2013, demand has been huge. The cronut-making process takes up to three days, limiting supply to 200-250 cronuts per day. Initially customers were allowed to purchase six each. In early June this was reduced to three and by mid-June the quota was cut to two.

For those that don't have time to queue, a blackmarket has emerged, with cronuts scalped either on the street or online. Some entrepreneurs even promise home delivery for $100. Each.

By 7.50am, the queue has snaked around the corner and numbers 130 hopefuls.

Dominique Ansel opens the door for the first round of customers

At 8am on the dot, Dominique Ansel himself opens the door and greets the first group of customers. About two dozen people make it inside before the door is closed and everyone else shuffles up a little closer.

Dominique Ansel packing cronuts into gold carry boxes

After ninety minutes of waiting, we finally make it inside and join the second queue snaking down the corridor. There's no doubt there's a buzz in the air as we ogle the pastries in the display and marvel at the cronuts behind the counter.

Cronuts

Cronuts! Precious cronuts!

Queuing stage two inside the bakery

This isn't just a cronut factory. The bakery is piled high with items, and a team of pastry chefs are still working the ovens as cashiers attend to customers.

Pastry chef piping madeleines

Nutella milk brioche bread US$3.50

Cannelés

Dominique's Kouign Amman, said to have been the seed of his cronut inspiration US$5.25

Dominique Ansel's cronut US$5

Each month Ansel features a different flavour cronut - for the month of June it's lemon maple. In May it was rose vanilla. In July it will be blackberry.

We ferry our precious cargo to the sunny courtyard out the back.

Layers insider the cronut

Okay so I'll admit I didn't have high expectations for this dessert. A donut croissant? Really? But the cronut isn't just a hunk of deep-fried laminated croissant dough. Biting into it, in fact, doesn't feel like you're eating a deep-fried pastry at all. It's light and airy, with a buttery crust that is deliciously caramelised at the edges. The layers are a sight to behold, distinctly separate and wildly alluring. The maple cream in the middle isn't necessary but the lemon glaze on top adds a tangy sweetness. The only resemblance to a donut is its shape, and the trail of sugar that lingers on your lips.

It's refined and elegant, and I finish it with ease. I don't know that I'd be able to eat a second one, nor would I queue 90 minutes for another, but there's some satisfaction in getting to the root of the craze, and tasting first-hand what has inspired an international juggernaut.

Perfect Little Egg Sandwich $5

Suze picks up a Perfect Little Egg Sandwich too, another Ansel specialty that seems to be the second most popular item ordered. It's a square of steamed omelette seasoned with herbs and gruyere cheese, although we find it a little under-seasoned in its miniature brioche bun.

Lemon maple cronut US$5and cannelé de Bourdeaux US$3

And I pick up a cannele for later. It's perfectly crusty on the outside, with an eggy middle.

Since we visited in mid-June, the cronut obsession has only deepened, with news that queueing at 7am will now only give you a 40% chance of scoring a cronut.

So that, my friends, is the original cronut and the first of my USA posts. Let me know what you're keen to read about next! I have 2,000 photos to choose from! Seriously.

39 Comments:

Joey, use your head. We may be nuts but it's not because of the fact that <100 out of a borough of 2-3 million are lining up for a pastry. I don't especially care for this bakery in general. It's just OK. I'm certainly not lining up for a Cronut and I've never even met someone that knows of anyone that has.

Sounds so ridiclous, but hey, if it made the belly happy then thats all that matters! At least its ticked off the to eat list. I wonder if that gives you any drive to try MoVida's doissant or zumbo's cronut?

2000 photos!! goodness me! the thought! Woah, perhaps this would be a good idea as a first stop when we are still on Sydney time!? HAHAHA saves the horror of "waking up early" hahahaa!!I'm so excited to read more on your USA food posts, doesn't matter what comes next - just keep them rolling! ^^

Thanks for tracking down the source of the cronut craze! I certainly wouldn't mind queuing up for ages if one of those cronuts was at the end. Been loving the posts and instagram photos from the US Trip, Keep em coming!

I seriously cannot fathom lining up that early in the morning for that long for something as insignificant as a pastry. To meet my favourite rock band, yes. But a cronut? I don't even queue for restaurants anymore. Then again, in your case, if you were on holiday and chances are you aren't going to be back in NYC any time soon, then maybe. But to be honest, I'm a little more interested in that nutella milk bread :)

ERHMEGHERD You guys tried the cronut. That is beyond awesome. Loving your serious dedication!! I wonder how it compares to the Zonut?.. The original sounds sooo good. Lemon maple, yes please! I can't believe you can only buy two haha.

My goodness! I applaud you for your early-morning, line-waiting patience. I had no idea the lines were so long for them. I recently tried a knock off cronut from a local Sydney food market that definitely was NOT light and wonderful. Methinks it would be hard to emulate the NY version.

THANK YOU for FINALLY educating me as to what the holy heck a "cronut" was. I thought it was some sort of nut... no seriously, I did. This is just brilliant! Love the story, love the blog, love the experience!